Premier League's 39th game is not welcome in US, but the NBA plans to stage basketball over here

Last updated at 10:11 14 February 2008

The United States Soccer Federation may be opposed to Premier League plans to stage their 39th game in America from the 2010-11 season, but American basketball is considering a full-scale expansion into Europe.

National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern is reported to be contemplating a plan to create as many as five franchises in Europe.

North America was thought to be one of the Premier League's key target markets to host its

"international round" of matches.

Stern is expected announce the NBA's stance on Saturday, the day before the All-Star Game in New Orleans.

The proposals are understood to include the formation of a European division

with five new teams in major markets.

The teams would play a full 82-game schedule and compete for the NBA

championship.

It is not the first time that Stern has entertained the concept of overseas

expansion. He broached the idea in 2003, saying then that the league

would look into European expansion within a decade.

Those plans were scrapped, however, with the NBA instead focusing on developing

its relationship with China and other emerging basketball markets.

Last month, the NBA announced the formation of NBA China, a project in which

four Chinese investors have pledged more than £125million.

While the number of foreign players in the NBA has increased in recent years,

Stern's latest plan could face a number of obstacles, as professional basketball

lags well behind football in terms of popularity in western Europe.

However, it still enjoys considerable support in Spain, Italy, Greece and the

Balkans.

The NBA has played regular-season games in Japan and Mexico, and played